Hypnosis: An Alternative Pain Management Prerogative for Chronic Orofacial Pain-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract Background: Chronic pain disorder demands multifaceted diagnostic criteria and multimodal management. The prevalence of chronic pain in orofacial region is about 10% and causing quality of life impingement. For management protocol, without relapse, and adverse effects of the long-term pharmacotherapy, the search is ongoing. Thus, arises the need for an alternate pain management technique; economical and free of side effects. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of hypnosis in chronic pain of orofacial region as a therapeutic alternative in the Randomized Controlled Trials. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to PRISMA 2020 guidelines, to quantify the association between orofacial pain and hypnosis effectiveness as management. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, Google Scholar and manual search was systematically searched from January 01, 2003 till March 15, 2023. Results: Five studies were selected and evaluated in depth. The statistical evaluation was conducted with a Forest plot with overall effect size at 11.33 and 10.30. The Odds ratio and weightage examined. It was observed that hypnosis aided in the reduction of pain perception by 55% and the reduction in the pain medication consumption. The heterogeneity was determined as 80%. Conclusion: The empirical efficacy of hypnosis in chronic pain of orofacial region was determined to be successful in pain management. It is noteworthy that hypnosis is a valuable adjunct to the existing protocols.